#3 Paulo Dybala
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Paulo Dybala recently attributed his rise to the top of European football to his obsession with the film ‘Gladiator’. The Argentine, however, certainly goes about his business with more grace than Maximus. In this Juventus side packed with grit, experience and superb tactical awareness, Dybala is the anomaly.
With the ability to whip the ball into the back of the net from anywhere in the vicinity of the 18-yard-box with that wand of a left foot, Dybala has been given license to float impishly in the final third by his manager just behind Gonzalo Higuain.
This will be the 23-year-old’s first European final but the Argentine will not be overawed by the occasion. His goals helped Juventus to a famous quarter-final victory over Barcelona for whom Lionel Messi, a player Dybala has been likened to countless times, plays for. While many young players would feel obliged to suck up to the great man, Dybala is keen to distance himself from the six-time Ballon d’Or winner, stating in the past that ‘Messi is Messi. I’m Paulo’.
And since completing a £28million move from Palermo in 2015, Dybala has gone about establishing himself as his own man admirably. He has scored 30 goals for the 32-time Scudetto winners since the transfer and only Higuain has more Champions League goals this season. In what is likely to be a chess-like battle between Juventus and Real Madrid, Dybala could prove to be the flash of magic that kicks the game into life.
